Fire couldn't snuff out El Rodeo Stables

Bob Kelley, stable manager at the El Rodeo stables in Brea, looks a cupboard full of trophies earned by the club dating as early as 1931. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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From left, Lacey, Barney, Durango, and Boogie, four horses at the El Rodeo Stables in Brea, fit comfortably in their own stable space, which were built after the older structures were damaged in 2008 by the Freeway Complex Fire. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Bob Kelley stands next to his favorite horse Buddy, in a stable that was built in the past year after the property was damaged by the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire. The El Rodeo Horse Club has resumed its activities after removing damaged property and building new structures. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A burned Pepper tree can still be seen on a trail that leads to the El Rodeo Stables in Brea, where the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire damaged most of the neighboring trees and shrubs and property belonging to the horse club. No horses were injured during the fire, but the stables were heavily damaged and recently rebuilt within the last year. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Katie Stricklin, head trainer at the El Rancho Stables in Brea, rides a friend's horse named Split on the big arena available at the location. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Buddy, a court horse that stays at the El Rodeo Stables, waits inside a new stable that was built within the past year after the older structures were damaged in the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Boogie, an American quarter horse at the El Rodeo Stables, fits comfortably in his own stable space, which were built after the older structures were damaged in 2008 by the Freeway Complex Fire. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A cupboard of trophies collected over the years by the El Rodeo Riding Club are safely stored in shelves. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Bob Kelley, stable manager at the El Rodeo stables in Brea, looks a cupboard full of trophies earned by the club dating as early as 1931. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Bob Kelley stepped past a row of horse stalls, looked to a grove of trees in the near distance and paused to remember the wind-fueled inferno that swept through this stretch of canyons and hills five years ago.

The 2008 Freeway Complex Fire torched the hills above north Orange County, taking with it thousands of acres of rural woodlands and hundreds of buildings.

Today, the fire's reach is clearly defined by the charred trees and black soot in the dirt. The massive wildfire crossed the property line of El Rodeo Stables at the base of Carbon Canyon, burning down a corral of horse stalls and nearly wiping out 80 years of Orange County equestrian history.

During the fire, all the animals – and humans – were safely evacuated. But for two years after the blaze, the stables stood stagnant and mostly empty. The facility aged, volunteers dwindled and riders boarded their horses elsewhere. Today there appears to be new life for the legendary riding facility.

American quarter horses with names like Tanner, Buddy and Scooter fill rebuilt stalls. Weeds have been pulled and the wooden-plank fences have fresh coats of white paint. An oval riding arena, among the largest in California, has been renovated. There are plans for children's camps, riding lessons, horse shows, barbecues and line dancing. There are chickens, lambs and, soon, a pen full of cattle.

"It's going to get real fun around here," said Kathy Page who estimated about $300,000 has been invested, so far, in upgrading the equestrian center. Page and her husband, Rob, are the new leaseholders of the stables, which sit on property owned by the El Rodeo Riding Club, a nonprofit association of local horse owners and riders dating back to 1927.

Fastened to a wall in the 40-year-old clubhouse are two wooden cases filled with trophies and ribbons highlighting the club's rich history.

For Kelley, a cattle rancher who wears a white mustache and a wide-brimmed hat and speaks in a deep drawl, coming back to El Rodeo is a little like coming home. He has been affiliated with the club since 1962, giving riding lessons and looking after horses over the years. For a time, he was even the club's president when the equestrian center thrived in the 1970s. After years away from El Rodeo, he is back as stable manager.

"We wanted to get El Rodeo back to what it used to be," said Kelley, a 69-year-old Brea resident who has spent decades in the hills above the riding facility ranching and herding cattle. "It used to be a premier equestrian center."

Today, the stables have about 60 horses boarded by riders. Located at the base of rural Carbon Canyon, El Rodeo is among the few places to access nearly 24,000 acres and hundreds of miles of trails in the hills above.

"There's no other place you can go in Orange County where you can be 10 minutes away from Disneyland and be able to ride all these acres," Kelley said.

Kathy and Rob Page – who live in a home overlooking El Rodeo but will move to a new house on the property – signed on in January 2012 as new leaseholders to revive the stables after the previous operator, Howard Bell, retired in the wake of the fire.

After Bell retired, Kelley Hartranft, secretary and treasurer for El Rodeo Riding Club, stepped in for a year to begin the renovation process.

Some feared that after the fire, the property would turn into a housing development. But bylaws in the riding club's charter specifically state that the property can't be sold.

"As far as we're concerned, the riding club will always be there," Hartranft said. "There will be a stable as long as there are people."

Katie Stricklin first started riding at the club when she was 6. Now she's back working at El Rodeo as a trainer. A behavioral therapist, this summer Stricklin, 26, will give riding lessons to children, including those with developmental disabilities.

"I always said this was my dream job, and I never thought I would have it," she said. "I feel like this is family and working here is coming home."

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